West University Place Mayor Bob Kelly launched a sustained,
11th-hour effort Monday to prevent the building of basements in the
city. But in the end, his was the sole City Council vote against an
ordinance which its chief proponent said was the most restrictive
in the country allowing the subterranean structures.

At the meeting two weeks prior, the council voted 3-2 (with
Kelly and Councilmember Steven Segal dissenting) to approve on
first reading the ordinance that would allow basements to be built
with several restrictions— principally that they be no more than
200 square feet and lie completely within the middle "footprint" of
the house.

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Then, Kelly, who had been adamantly against the idea of allowing
basements in low-lying West University since the issue was raised
more than two years ago, hinted there would be a fuller discussion
of the issue when the ordinance came up for its second and final
reading.

On Monday, Kelly made good on that prediction by extensively
questioning several people —- including the chairs of the two city
commissions who had voted overwhelmingly in January to recommend an
outright ban on basements —- during the public comments portion of
the meeting.

"The hallmark of this city is zoning," which is essentially
concerned with weighing individuals' property rights against the
community's interests, Kelly said at the outset of the
discussion.

Guided by the mayor's questions, Bryant Slimp, chair of the
Buildings and Standards Commission, and Steve Brown, chair of the
Zoning and Planning Commission, discussed the history of their
respective commissions' grappling with the issue since it came to
the fore when the collapse of a full-size basement being built
under a house on Lake Street caused damage to a neighboring
property.

Slimp and Brown both said their respective commissions had
considered the issue extensively over a period of months, and after
hearing from three engineers, in the end the majority of both
bodies decided that allowing basements in West University was not a
sound idea.

They said some of the concerns about basements included
structural issues, the possibility of flooding or mold, and that
such structures could lower property values. While the engineers
had told the Building & Standards Commission that basements
could be designed and built safely, they weren't recommended for
West University.

But Councilman George Boehme, who had pushed hardest for the
ordinance, questioned whether the current membership of the
Building & Standards Commission had even directly heard from
the engineering experts cited.

Kelly later called on Les Albins, a mechanical engineer and
homebuilder who has previously served on both the commissions.
Drawing a diagram, Albins -- who said he had built basements in two
homes in Houston that later failed -- explained why he believed
building basements in the clay underneath West University was
inherently dangerous. Primarily, he said, the drainage required
would pose a risk to the very part of the clay where the house's
foundation was set.

But Councilman Chuck Guffey, who was second only to Boehme in
his support of the ordinance, grilled Albins on why a builder
couldn't simply build "a concrete box" as a basement and drop it
into the ground.

"I think you're mistaken. I think you're very mistaken," Albins
said. In the Houston area, the number of contractors with the the
expertise to do the job right is very limited, he said.

"You can design it, and you can build it. But the chances of
there being problems is very high," he said.

Kelly next called John Brown, the city's chief building
official, who reiterated his comments from previous discussions
that while his staff was not taking a position on basements one way
or another, the ordinance he drafted that would allow them complied
with the standards of the International Building Code.

While the city's staff could inspect and sign off on the
construction of basements, there was no way that the city could
guarantee builders' and contractors' workmanship, Brown said.

As the matter turned toward a vote, Kelly again referred to the
two city commissions, which he called "our experts" on the matter.
"Why do we want to go against our experts?" he asked.

But Boehme, who repeated that he himself didn't believe building
a basement in West University was a good idea, restated his
position that the city shouldn't make that choice for property
owners.

Boehme said he'd researched cities across the nation --
including coastal cities in Texas, Maine, South Carolina and
California -- and couldn't find one example of a city that banned
basements outright. Even New Orleans allows full basements, he
said.

Boehme said the proposed ordinance was a fitting response to a
problem that had arisen, and as written was the "most restrictive"
one in the country.

Quoting an old friend, Boehme said "Public policy is several
days late, and when it shows up, it overreaches."

Boehme made a motion to accept the ordinance, seconded by
Guffey. Kelly offered an amendment that would have changed the
language to prohibit basements altogether, but that failed for lack
of a second.

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Fry, who is running against Segal to replace
the outgoing Kelly as mayor, said that he appreciated the advice of
the two commissions, but he felt that banning basements "is a step
too far." If the city staff said basements could be safely built,
he was prepared to vote for the ordinance.

Segal, who had supported Kelly's position in previous votes,
said he'd wanted to be sure that sufficient rules were in place
before allowing basements. He said he was now satisfied that those
rules were in place.

When the question was called, the council voted 4-1 to adopt the
ordinance. Kelly, without comment, moved on to other business.